Automobile umbrella holder



D ;.,27, 1932; w. BEEHLER 1,892,603

AUTOMOBILE UMBRELLA HOLDER Filed Dec. 29, 1928 ATTORNEY Patented Dec.27, 1932 UNITED STATES WILLIAM' BEEHLER, or Burmese, MARYLANDAUTOMOBILE- UMBRELLA olman 7 Application filed December 29, 1928. SerialNo. 329,256,

My invention relates to means for advantageously locating or detachablysecuring an umbrella in an automobile, so that the umbrella is instantlyavailable for use in U case of" rain.

Heretofore the carrying of umbrellas in motor cars has been discouragedbecause an ordinary umbrella placed loosely in any part .of the car bodyis in the way of passengers,

'will not maintain an upright position because of the car-body motions,and will usually fall to the floor where it is liable to damage by theshoes of passengers; and the umbrella' fabric is also'chafed or ruinedby friction, in almost any position in which it may belocated- Whilevarious holding devices supposedly suitable for this purpose have beenproposed, all of such known to me have beendefectivebecause ofinconvenient location, complication and unjustifiable cost, and

other reasons, including especially failure to.

securely hold the umbrella in such position or such manner that it isfree from pounding or V chafing against the holder itself or parts ofthe car-body structure; for these reasons such devices have hadpractically no commercial usage.

By long familiarity with the manufacture, sale and use of umbrellas, andstudy and ex- 7' periments directed to overcoming the chili- 'culties ordisadvantages above briefly referred to, and to making the carrying ofumbrellas in cars convenient and practical, I 3 have produced holdingdevices, and have so located them in or combined them with the car-bodystructure (as herein disclosed), that the umbrella is in anout-of-the-way position where it does not hamper the movements ofoccupants and is not subject to injury by any of their movements, but isat the same time easily and immediately accessible for use; and theumbrella is readily detachable from the holder, but when placed thereinis securely or firmly held, in such manner that it is free from chafingor other injury by contact with parts of the holder itself or otherobjects.

The importance of so supporting. the urnbrella that abrasion of thefabric by rattling body is always in more or less violent m or poundingmovements is prevented, will be realized'when it is understood that 'the-usuat metal frame including the ribs weighs about 1 1b.; that whenthe-vehicle is moving tl -ief- 1on and if not properly positioned or super-we; the umbrella. frame acts as a' h'amn'i'er to press, pound or rubthe fabric against any adjacent object; which is practically-ananvil" GQfor the frame-hammer action ;{'if"an'y such abrasive action ispermitted,'-the fabric as; quickly chafed or worn through, and-in shorttime will be completely'ruined- This I have proved by tests, and it isalso shown (35 to be true by the oldpractice of carryin gun protectedtire inner-tubes in the tool' boi fin such cases the tube wasalwaysabraded and perforated by contact withother objects, andv aftersuch experience the necessity was ap 70,, parent for protecting the tubewith a heavy d cover, if 'carried loosely inthe" to'olfbox or, ls h r.J. I, ,1 I have also foundthatavery advantageous location in anauto'mobile' for an; umbrella der, isin an ppe ra' t f the-body; id. 5 Ped th t the mbr l a'i helt 11 .1 zontally; such a locationmaybeon'af'verg tical wall of the body, and=preferably above a window,'ormore desirably, as herein dis-'7 closed, onthe rear wallanddirectlyab'oye the rear Window, "for reasons, 'andwith ad; vantagesstated below. p T he term umbrellal as here used is to be understood asincluding para'sol?, although the greatest utility of the inventionisihpro; vidingforthe' proper carrying in vehicle's'bf. true umbrellas.The characteristics and advantages of the invention are furthersufijciently', explained 9 in connection with the following detail'd gscription of the accompanying; drawing, which shows certainrepresentativeembeds, ments; after considering these exampl s, skilledpersons will understand that man 5i variations may be made withoutdeparting from the principles disclosed, and fc'ontje'n j plate theemployment of anystr'uctures or ar; rangenients that are properlyWithinf the scope of" the appended claims;

Fig. 1 is an interior view, looking rearward, of a typical closed carbody, with the invention in one form incorporated therein.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of one of the umbrella supports or clips,combined with a curtain bracket.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the other clip and bracket.

Fig. 3a is a perspective view. 7

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of modi fied forms of clips. I I

Figs. 2 and 3 show any known or suitable curtain brackets B and B, asused for the support of a shade-roller 10, and especially the shade rollfor the rear window W, located inthe rear wall RW' of a car body,Fig. 1. Each bracket includes a base 11 secured to the car wall, and'aplate or body portion 12, socketed, slotted or perforated to receive theflattened spring-stud at one end of the roll and the pin at the otherend, as usual.

I have found that in many cases the proper spacing of these rear-curtainbrackets corre- I sponds to the distance between suitable parts in aholder of unsuitable type, or one located in an undesirable part of thecar body.

I takeadvantage of these conditions and discoveries by providing each ofthe curtain brackets with means for engaging and detachably supportingan umbrella in the stated location and position. Thus, specifically, asshown in Figs. 2 and 3, each base portion 11 has anupper portion fromwhich a strip projects-at. a right angle, this strip being slotted as at13, to form arms 15, 16 terminating in jaws 17, 18. The slot may be madein the sheet metal while it is in fiat condition, and is so arrangedthat a part 14 of the slot extends into the base; or otherwise stated,the slot eX- tends around the corner produced when the arm-portions arebent at a right-angle to the base, thus securing ample resiliency, orspring-action in the aws. The aws preferably have flanges 15, bent at aright-angle and formed into half-round sockets; and the j aw ends arerounded or beveled, as at 21, to facilitate insertion of a rod, or otherportion of an umbrella, by automatic spreading of the jaws by appliedpressure as the rod is inserted.

lower end of the handle 23. It may be desirable in some cases to sodimension the umbrella rod, or to so locate the handle, that a smallspace is left between the handle and the rib-ends, to accommodate thenarrow clip jaws; otherwise, without modification of the umbrella, inwhich the ends of the ribs are usually close to the handle end, therib-tips may be crowded to one side, sufliciently to peamit engagementof the clip-jaws with the ro The tip or ferrule 20 of an umbrella ofstandard typeand dimensions, is of substan-' tial length, and may beengaged by one of the clips atany point of its length. This admitsconsiderable variation in the spacing of brackets 11 (in accordance withwidth of the window). If the bracket spacing must be such that astandard umbrella will not fit in clips arranged as shown, the clips maybe offset laterally, toward or away from each other, to suit the lengthof the umbrella.

hen the umbrella is placed in the holder as shown, it is firmly heldfree from rattling, and its fabric is out of contact with the brackets,shade roller, and wall of the car, and with any other objects, so thatinjury to the umbrella is impossible; it is also conveniently accessiblefor immediate use, by merely pulling it out from the clips.

Fig. 4 shows a modification in which the bracket extension 15 has apart-round notch or socket 30 in its upper end, and a flat spring 31,secured by rivets 32, has a portion 33 overlying the socket, to hold arod releasably therein.

In Fig. 5, the bracket extension has its upper portion pressedhorizontally, and formed into a larger, rounded socket 40, cooperatingwith a rounded socket formation 41 of a fiat spring 42, secured as inFig. 4. These socket formations are dimensioned to approximately fitportions of the umbrella which are of larger diameter than the rod, suchas the handle, the group of rib-tips, or even about the rolled fabric;such clips, or one of them in conjunction with one such as shown in theother figures, may be'used when it is not desired, for any reason, toengage the rod,

in the clip.

A clip of the type of Figs. 2, 3 and 3a may have its clips or jawsdimensioned to receive other parts of an umbrella than the rod or tip;thus, as suggested in connection with Fig. 5, for example, the socketformations 15 of Fig. 3a maybe large enough to receive the rib-tips ofthe rolled umbrella. The flanges constituting the sockets provide sufiicient bearing-surface to avoid injury to the umbrella rod, rib-tips, orother part engaged in the clips.

The combined curtain brackets and clips may be supplied to car owners orrepair shops and by them. easily installed in cars in place of theordinary brackets; or they may be placed in the car by the manufacturer.

I claim: 1

1. A supporting bracket of the class described comprising a base platefor attachment to a support or the like, an arm for supporting an end ofa shade roll member, and

means for resiliently embracing a part of an umbrella, both the arm andmeans supported by the base having the respective shade and umbrellaengaging portions equidistantly spaced from the plane of the base.

2. A supporting bracket of the class described comprising a base platefor attachment to a support or the like, an arm on the plate forsupporting an end of a shade roll member, a second arm extending fromthe plate and split to form a pair of resilient j mm for embracing apart of an umbrella, the arm and jaws having the respective shade andumbrella engaging portions equidistantly spaced from the plane of thebase.

3. A supporting bracket of the class described comprising, a base platefor attachment to a support or the like, an arm on the base plate forholding the end of a shade roll member, said arm being provided With anotched extension, and the latter having a spring secured theretooverlying the notch. In testimony whereof I have signed thisspecification this 5th day of November, 1928.

WILLIAM BEEHLER.

